Thursday May 14th, 2009 @ 4:08 PM

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I have a prince albert piercing which is coming up to seven years old. It was pierced at 10ga and stretched up to 8ga about a year later. I decided about a month ago to stretch up to 6ga. I had no problem getting the jewellery in and I’ve been wearing a 6ga circular barbell with 16ml internal diameter since then. The jewellery is from Wildcat in the UK and is made from surgical stainless steel which I’ve worn in the past without any trouble.

Since the stretch the piercing has been quite tender, particulary when the jewellery moves. Also some raised scar tissue seems to have built up around the hole in the last couple of days. It is paler than the surrounding skin and feels fairly hard. It is not painful to put pressure on, rather the pain feels as though it comes from deeper within the fistula.

Please can you advise me on what to do? Will it help to downsize the jewellery at this stage? Ideally I’d rather not downsize having made the stretch but my priority is really to prevent the scar developing any further and reduce it as much as possible.

Many thanks,

Sam

I think it’s safe to say you may have stretched the piercing further than what it was ready for.
With any injured piercings after a stretch it’s a good idea to downsize back to (at least) the last worn size to allow for swelling and draining. Leaving an over stretched piercing angry with the jewelry that’s too big can cause a blow out and give you problems should you decide you’d like to stretch further down the road.

Be mindful of jewelry quality as well. “Surgical Steel” doesn’t mean anything as far as what your jewelry is made up of. It could be that you’re having a reaction to something in the metal. Does the barbell have have a nicely rounded edge to insert into the piercing or is it sharp? Did you use a taper to help guide the jewelry through without damaging the piercing? Is it internally threaded?
These are all things to take into consideration.

Seeing as it’s coming on a month since it’s started to bother you, I would trace my steps back to the last time it felt okay and put the old jewelry back in until it settles down.
In the meantime, mind you’re keeping it wrapped up and rinsed off before and after any play.